US start-up SolarSpace to bring critical clean-energy expertise to UAE under Ministry’s NextGen FDI Program

US start-up SolarSpace to bring critical clean-energy expertise to UAE under Ministry’s NextGen FDI Program

ABU DHABI - The Ministry of Economy has announced that SolarSpace, a US-based startup specialising in solar energy generation technology, has joined its NextGen FDI programme and plans to establish regional headquarters in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi.

Founded in Tuscon, Arizona in 2020 by David Vili, the company specializes in off-grid concentrated solar power (CSP), which is able to generate three times the energy of conventional photovoltaic panel systems utilizing only a fifth of the land area.

SolarSpace’s solutions, some of which incorporate components designed by engineers at the University of Arizona and NASA, include off-grid charging stations for electric vehicles, which they are currently stress-testing in arid and remote conditions. They are also developing a carbon-neutral water purification and desalination system, which demonstrated to His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, during the World Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi last week. The system, which could reduce the cost of potable water by up to five times, will also be showcased at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) held in Dubai in November 2023.

Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi heralded the addition of SolarSpace to the NextGen FDI community as both a vital addition